How Much Cash Is Enough?

Apparently Arnold Schwarzenegger feels his estimated net worth of around $400 million is just not quite enough money to handle making any alimony payments to his soon-to-be ex-wife, Maria Shriver. After 25 years of marriage, Maria Shriver filed for a divorce action that will eventually result in a split of the former California Governor’s assets of around $400 million. However, in a new twist, Schwarzenegger recently filed more papers with the California courts indicating that he has no plans to pay alimony to Shriver. The aging action-hero also indicated that he does not want to pay any of Shriver’s attorney fees for the divorce either.

The high-profile couple announced they would split up right after Schwarzenegger finished his term as California’s Governor in November of last year and later admitted he had fathered a child with the family’s former housekeeper. Less than a month later, Maria Shriver followed up the surprise discovery of Arnold’s love child by filing a petition for divorce with the California courts on July 1st of this year.

Even though both Arnold and Maria are seeking joint custody of their two sons who are still minors at ages 17 and 13, Arnold’s attempts to block his wife from collecting any more of his cash in the form of alimony payments and attorney’s fees shows just how deep the rift between the celebrity couple has become. Arnold and Maria also have two daughters who are adults, Katherine Eunice, age 22 and Christina Maria Aurelia, age 20. Arnold has not indicated he will try to block paying child support payments yet, but you never know what might happen after the California courts order him to give half of his assets to Shriver. Maria Shriver is entitled to half of all assets the couple had acquired during their 25 year marriage because the couple had no prenuptial agreement in place prior to the marriage and California is a community property state where the law mandates splitting marital assets right down the middle.

After the initial divorce filing, Schwarzenegger said he was putting his acting career on hold, a redundant statement because his acting had already been on hold for years. However, he later changed his mind and issued a Tweet in February saying “Exciting news. My friends at Creative Artists Agency have been asking me for 7 years when they can take offers seriously. Gave them the green light today.” Perhaps the ex-governor is already beginning to feel the pinch of having to give up $200 million or so in his upcoming divorce? A return to acting might sound like a good way to move forward after his divorce is finalized, but what the ever-optimistic narcissist might be forgetting is the degree his advanced age and media overexposure during his term as California’s governor might have on his ideas of stepping back into the role of a fantasy hero in 2012 or beyond. Despite his seeming ignorant exuberance, this might be especially true in California, where the citizens of the Golden State have soured on the ego-centric senior citizen after his dismal performance as a legislator there.

The fact that Arnold is also currently involved with opening a museum dedicated entirely to himself and housed in the home where he grew up as a child back in Thal, Austria, gives a partial clue to the size of his giant ego and the alternate reality he apparently lives in. The new museum is likely to suffer the same fate as the last museum in Austria that displayed Schwarzenegger memorabilia; it opened in 1997 and closed in 2005 due to financial problems. Maybe Arnie still has enough fans left to support his renewed acting career and museum, and maybe not. The situation brings to mind the notable quote from American journalist and social critic H.L. Mencken who observed “No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.”